The present invention relates to medical equipment such as bedside medical pumps for the delivery of medicines to patients, and in particular, to medical equipment that can authenticate, log and adjust its operation according to the authorization of an operator using the medical equipment.
Medical pumps, such as syringe pumps or peristaltic infusion pumps, are known for computer-controlled delivery of medication or contrast agents (henceforth medicaments) to patients over a period of time. Typically the medicament is delivered in a syringe (for a syringe pump) or a flexible bag (for peristaltic infusion pump, or ambulatory pump) that may be connected to an IV line attached to a needle for insertion into the patient. When a nurse or other healthcare professional ministering to the patient receives the medicament, the healthcare professional reviews the medicament description for correctness and enters the desired dose and rate into the pump. Other pump parameters such as alarm limits and the like may also be programmed at this time. The syringe or IV line must then be mechanically connected to the pump mechanism, the needle introduced into the patient, and the mechanism activated to begin pumping.
Advances in medical equipment design have greatly simplified the operation of such pumps permitting them to be used by a wide variety of environments and by different operators including not only trained healthcare professionals in a hospital environment but also in a home care setting by a visiting nurse or even by the patient themselves. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/488,841 filed Jun. 5, 2012, assigned to the assignee of the present application and hereby incorporated by reference, describes a system that allows the pump to be preloaded and preprogrammed by a pharmacist and/or skilled healthcare professional. These features are then locked out and optionally hidden from a home or other user who has access to a more limited set of control parameters for the pump.
It is likely that the future of healthcare services will see more specialization in the delivery of services. This may mean multiple different individuals will prepare, program and supervise the operation of medical pumps in a variety of different environments. While such division of labor can be highly efficient it creates a risk that important steps in the delivery chain may be omitted, particularly when no single individual has an overview of the process.